Macbook Air slow Speedtests.

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3puttssuck

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Topic # 150349 19-Jul-2014 18:21

2013 Macbook Air running Mavricks. Snap Fibre 100 / 50 plan.
I'm getting Speedtest.net results in the 50 to 60 mbps range both on Wifi and Ethernet but a 4 yr old Toshiba running Windows 7 is getting
85 to 90 mbps both wifi and wired.
I have spoken to Snap and they say all is good at their end and with my Fritzbox
I have tried Safari, Chrome and Firefox, makes no difference.
Anybody have any ideas ?
Thanks.

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Reply # 1092107 19-Jul-2014 18:31

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Open activity monitor and check the CPU usage while speedtest runs. Sometimes flash just saturates the system

benokobi

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Reply # 1092131 19-Jul-2014 19:43

My air gets close to sync speeds on safari.

RunningMan

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Reply # 1092144 19-Jul-2014 20:06

benokobi: My air gets close to sync speeds on safari.

Given sync speed I guess you are on xDSL which will be a slower connection than the OP

RunningMan

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Reply # 1092146 19-Jul-2014 20:07

Also, try a file download from a local server and see what the result is

alexx

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Reply # 1092166 19-Jul-2014 20:56

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Macbook Air doesn't have built in ethernet. What sort of ethernet adapter are you using? If you haven't tried reboot and start the browser with just the speedtest page. You could also try some sort of disk speed test to eliminate that as the limiting factor.

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RunningMan

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Reply # 1092172 19-Jul-2014 21:08

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One more thing - are you using 2.4 or 5GHz wifi? Apple won't support wide channels on 2.4 which will limit throughput to 60ish Mb/s.

alexx

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Reply # 1092188 19-Jul-2014 22:00

When connecting using wireless, on the menu bar there will be a Wi-Fi symbol.
Press the option key and then click on the Wi-Fi symbol - you should be able to see the wireless transmit rate and other info.

http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/15/get-detailed-wifi-info-from-the-menu-bar/

The Channel, RSSI and Transmit Rate would be interesting to see.
Hopefully the channel will be in the 5 GHz band and the transmit rate will be 100 Mb/s or better.

Like Runningman mentions above, my RSSI is good (about -40), but I'm on 2.4 GHz and the transmit rate is 65 Mb/s.
Not a problem for DSL, but I'd want something faster if I was on a 100 Mb/s fibre plan.

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RunningMan

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Reply # 1092300 20-Jul-2014 08:43

alexx: [snip]

Like Runningman mentions above, my RSSI is good (about -40), but I'm on 2.4 GHz and the transmit rate is 65 Mb/s.

65Mb/s will be a single chain narrow channel 2.4GHz - actual throughput will be closer to 25-30Mb/s. Even on 2.4GHz, you'll see transmit rates around 150Mb/s with multiple radio chains, but actual throughput will be 60-70. On 5GHz, Apple will go to wide (40MHz) channels, so throughput will roughly double again. Some vendors support wide channels on 2.4GHz, but it is considered a bit un-neighbourly as it stomps over pretty much every other channel nearby.

All assuming 802.11n of course.

sbiddle

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Reply # 1092316 20-Jul-2014 09:35

Unless you're using 5Ghz at 40Mhz expecting to get anywhere near 90Mbps over WiFi is just a dream. In today's world it's something that's just not really possible with 2.4Ghz unless you live inside a faraday cage.

3puttssuck

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Reply # 1092333 20-Jul-2014 10:27

alexx: When connecting using wireless, on the menu bar there will be a Wi-Fi symbol.
Press the option key and then click on the Wi-Fi symbol - you should be able to see the wireless transmit rate and other info.

http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/15/get-detailed-wifi-info-from-the-menu-bar/

The Channel, RSSI and Transmit Rate would be interesting to see.
Hopefully the channel will be in the 5 GHz band and the transmit rate will be 100 Mb/s or better.

Like Runningman mentions above, my RSSI is good (about -40), but I'm on 2.4 GHz and the transmit rate is 65 Mb/s.
Not a problem for DSL, but I'd want something faster if I was on a 100 Mb/s fibre plan.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.....

Here's my results from the above test...

PHY MODE: 802.11n
BSSID:9c:c7:a6:a8:xx:xx
CHANNEL: 44 (5 GHz)
SECURITY: WPA 2
RSSI: -68
TRANSMIT RATE: 108
MSC INDWX: 11

sbiddle

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Reply # 1092374 20-Jul-2014 10:42

MCS 11 is 108Mhz so this will deliver data rates of about 60Mhz which is exactly what you're seeing.

The speeds you're seeing actually show nothing wrong with your connection.

Why are you not seeing MCS15? That's a completely different question entirely.

It's worth noting which I posed in another identical thread yesterday discussing Apple WiFi issues, that most modern Apple gear is NOT certified by the WiFi Alliance as it's not fully comparable with the WiFi standard. WiFI issues on Apple hardware (particularly modern Macbooks) has reached endemic proportions.

3puttssuck

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Reply # 1092380 20-Jul-2014 10:49

sbiddle: MCS 11 is 108Mhz so this will deliver data rates of about 60Mhz which is exactly what you're seeing.

The speeds you're seeing actually show nothing wrong with your connection.

Why are you not seeing MCS15? That's a completely different question entirely.

It's worth noting which I posed in another identical thread yesterday discussing Apple WiFi issues, that most modern Apple gear is NOT certified by the WiFi Alliance as it's not fully comparable with the WiFi standard. WiFI issues on Apple hardware (particularly modern Macbooks) has reached endemic proportions.

Thanks sbiddle.

What's MSC15 ? I'm not that tech savy sorry.

sbiddle

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Reply # 1092382 20-Jul-2014 10:54

802.11n uses between MCS0 and MCS15 for the data date. Number of spatial streams, modulation, coding rate and channel size all vary with each data rate.

If you've got a few weeks spare you might get some possible hints searching the Apple discussion forums and reading the thousands on threads on WiFI issues, particularly with 2013+ MacBook devices. If you want reliable WiFi from an Apple device these days the best approach is to buy an Airport as your AP. The downside being you'll probably find non Apple devices then run into WiFi issues connecting to the Airport, as once again the current devices are not WiFi alliance certified.

JoshWright

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Reply # 1092384 20-Jul-2014 11:02

Would switching to a wireless AC router help? I know the 2013 MacBook Airs have 802.11AC enabled AirPort cards in them. Only issue is cost of forking out for another access point, and it doesn't exactly solve the current issue.

alexx

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Reply # 1092681 20-Jul-2014 21:06

JoshWright: Would switching to a wireless AC router help? I know the 2013 MacBook Airs have 802.11AC enabled AirPort cards in them. Only issue is cost of forking out for another access point, and it doesn't exactly solve the current issue.

If his current ethernet adapter is USB and there are no driver update available, then perhaps a Thunderbolt to gigabit ethernet adapter could be the answer.

http://store.apple.com/nz/product/MD463ZM/A/thunderbolt-to-gigabit-ethernet-adapter

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